Foreigners Teachers Volunteer Contract

							Organizational Success Through
             Equal Investment
                Bienvenidos a SJBS
           San Jeronimo Bilingual School (SJBS)
               •A community-managed non-profit school.
            •Serves 236 socioeconomically diverse students.
   •Parents Association tasked with administration and maintenance.




          BECA’s Role                       Becado Program
   •SJBS’s U.S. non-profit partner.      •30% of school population.
•Recruits and trains service-minded       •Led by an elected board.
  volunteer teachers and provides           •Tasked with school’s
     them at no cost to school.         maintenance and upkeep, and
•Administers scholarship program.          small building projects.
    Importance of an Equal investment
•Inclusion of Honduran stakeholders legitimizes our NGO presence.
•Unilateral governance by foreigners lacks community buy-in.
•Gives under-represented Hondurans a voice in their communities.

                              •Creates a venue where Hondurans
                              can take on leadership roles and will
                              have pride in working alongside other
                              Hondurans.
                              •Allows for substantive cultural
                              exchange between BECA teachers
                              and community members.
                              •Provides for avenues towards
                              long-term sustainability.
                   BECA’s Role
•SJBS’s U.S. non-profit partner.
•Recruits and trains service-minded volunteer teachers and
provides them at no cost to school.
•Administers scholarship program to ensure a significant
number of low-income students attend the school.
Becado Program
•30% of school population, given
according to need.
•Collaboration required to maintain
scholarship.
•Group leadership in democratically
elected representatives.
•Representation on School Board.



                                      Meeting the Requirements
                                      •Monthly point system.
                                      •Food sales.
                                      •Maintenance and upkeep of the
                                      school and its grounds.
                                      •Large projects.
                         ASPAPRO
   The Asociación de Padres Proeducación de Cofradía
•Democratically-elected by school’s parents every year.
•Maintains school’s financials; posts them publicly for transparency.

•Hires Honduran staff and
prioritizes      long-term
building projects.
•An enormous level of
pride and dedication in
SJBS.
•Members have presented
to other bilingual schools.
The Effectiveness of a Team Effort
   1. Sharing the responsibilities
   •   A contract defining each partners obligations.
   •   Equal standing in all matters, decision making
       and execution.
   •   Open discussion.
   •   A willingness to work with one another’s unique
       cultural perspectives.

   2. …And the benefits
   •   The day to day joys of working with kids.
   •   Lifelong friendships (and more baleadas than it is
       probably sane to eat!).
   •   Working side by side and seeing our efforts come
       to fruition.
   •   A true cultural exchange.
      Maximizing BECA’s Efforts
1. Summer Institute Teacher Training
   •5-week intensive workshops to
   acclimate and train new teachers.
   •Developed with Alison Bixby Stone
   School , Thank you Julie and Sarah!
2. Establishment of New Curriculum
   •Developed with community input.
   •Built from scratch to meet unique
   challenges of bilingual classroom.
3. Two-Year Teaching Model
   •Currently rely on one-year teachers.
   •Staggered teacher start dates will
   provide instructional continuity and
   better community relations.
BECA’s Planned Expansion
     •Growing beyond our existing SJBS relationship.
     •2011/2012 will see an expansion of the BECA
     model with two schools, one in Vida Nueva and
     the other in Villanueva Cortés.
     •Increased recruiting efforts to find English-
     speaking volunteer teachers for these partner
     schools so as to keep tuition costs low.
     •Continue to provide cultural acclimation and
     exceptional teacher training at our yearly Summer
     Institute guaranteeing a high standard.

     •Create network of bilingual schools committed to
     providing affordable education and emphasis on
     community      ownership      of   the   school’s
     management.
  Questions? Comments?
        Contact:
     Mike Buttram
    BECA Administrator
      (505) 660-2009
buttrammichael@gmail.com

  www.becaschools.org